There's just a few days left to snag some Marketplace swag at a discount when you... Donate Today! 🎁

Rural high schools struggle to keep up

John Dimsdale Feb 5, 2010
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Rural high schools struggle to keep up

John Dimsdale Feb 5, 2010
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Bill Radke: Schools in rural areas are in trouble. A study out today from the Alliance for Excellent Education finds more than 20 percent of the poorest-performing high schools are in rural areas. The study concludes the problems in rural education are a national crisis, as Marketplace’s John Dimsdale reports.


John Dimsdale: One in four rural high school students won’t graduate. And Bob Wise, the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, says federal policy makers aren’t paying enough attention.

Bob Wise: If you’re not seen or heard everyday, perhaps you’re out of mind.

And without money from Washington, Wise, a former governor of West Virginia, says rural schools will fall further behind.

Wise: Because let’s be honest: The federal government is about the only player that can afford to move forward. Almost every state is facing a budget shortfall and will for the next several years.

One special challenge for rural school districts: a wave of immigrants.

Wise: Rural areas that 10, 15 years ago did not have one word of foreign language spoken in them now have to offer English language learning courses.

Wise says technology can help close the gap. For example, students could take language courses on line once Internet connections are upgraded.

In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.